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Oblate featured on International Business News Channel January 11th, 2016
Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI discusses a proposal that calls for a greater level of transparency and shareholder participation with Viacom…
2015 Year in Review – Oblate JPIC office December 31st, 2015
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Expanded JPIC visits to Oblates ministry places: Godfrey, IL, Our Lady of the Snows Shrine, Saint Ann Parish in Peñitas, Saint Eugene De Mazenod Parish, Our Lady of Refuge, Roma, Cathedral in Brownsville, Eagle Pass and Tijuana and other Oblate parishes, shrines.
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Collaboration with OST and Formation House in San Antonio. A reflection day by JPIC for scholastics at Sexton House of Studies, and Collaboration initiative with Oblate School of Theology has been initiated.
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Oblate JPIC sign-on letter urging U.S. Congress to welcome Syrian refugees of all faith traditions. Joined over 400 faith leaders.
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JPIC Staff Meets with Partner Organizations. The meetings have focused on sharing areas of common effort and learning about new initiatives and programs.
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Renewing Our Ministry: Pope Francis in the United States – summaries and quotes of speeches produced by the JPIC staff.
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Fr. Seamus Finn OMI was featured on Bloomberg TV discussing socially responsible engagements with Bank of America. The New York Times also interviewed Fr. Seamus about corporate engagements with Bank of America. -
Vatican Radio has interviewed Fr. Daniel LeBlanc OMI, Missionary Oblates General Administration representative to the United Nations and VIVAT in New York about the impact of Pope Francis Encyclical Laudato Si’ on United Nations deliberations.
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Oblate JPIC office, in collaboration with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) applauded the introduction in the House of Representatives of the Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act of 2015.
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Oblate JPIC participated in the global Oblate online conference, Oblate Charism in Context in San Antonio, Texas, presenting, “The charism in North America in the context of JPIC.”
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JPIC signed a letter to Secretary Kerry from faith-based organizations, supporting a U.S law, creating more transparency in oil and mining payments to governments.
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Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI participated in two conferences on mining, one at the Vatican, and one in Cape Town, South Africa, discussing with Church leaders and mining CEOs the environmental impact of mining operations.
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Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” published on May 24. Missionary Oblates JPIC produced reflection resources for the encyclical.
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Fr. Seamus Finn OMI feature in Huffington Post: What Pope Francis Can Teach the Presidents of Catholic Colleges and Universities.
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Oblate Community Supported Garden at La Vista in Godfrey Illinois hosted the successful Feast in the Field, celebrating the garden and its dedication to help feed the local community sustainably
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JPIC Committee Chair Gary Huelsmann, honored by Madison County Bar Association with annual Liberty Bell Award.
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Production resource for Advent by staff: 2015 Advent with Saint Eugène De Mazenod.
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JPIC staff attended a national conference on Migration in Chicago sponsored by the U.S. College of Bishops.
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New JPIC Committee meeting appointed: Fr. Quilin Bouzi, OMI and Mr. Victor Carmona. (OST).
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New JPIC Staff: Rowena (Communications), Meghan (Office Coordinator) and Sr. Nathaniel (Intern).
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JPIC hosted Open House for partners’ organizations and offices from the DC area that we collaborate with on different issues.
A Stranger and You Welcomed Me December 28th, 2015
National Migration Week 2016
“A Stranger and You Welcomed Me”
National Migration Week will be observed January 3 to 9. The theme for the 2016 observance is, “A Stranger and You Welcomed Me.” Oblate JPIC is inviting you to use this opportunity to pray, raise awareness and educate your communities on the issue of immigration and Catholic Social Teaching.
Prayer Resource
Leader
We are a community called and gathered by you, God. Your son, Jesus, lived your love in a community of apostles and disciples and invited them to look after one another. We ask you to help us not to forget that we all are called to imitate the example of your Son among ourselves.
Reader
The Church hears the suffering cry of all who are uprooted from their own land, of families forcefully separated, of those who, in the rapid changes of our day, are unable to find a stable home anywhere. She senses the anguish of those without rights, without any security, at the mercy of every kind of exploitation, and she supports them in their unhappiness. [We are called to work] so that every person’s dignity is respected, the immigrant is welcomed as a brother or sister, and all humanity forms a united family, which knows how to appreciate with discernment the different cultures, which comprise it.
(Pope John Paul II Message for World Migration Day 2000)
Prayer (Leader)
Loving God,
We pray that you provide your divine protection to all migrants, particularly those who are driven from their homes due to war or violence, who are uprooted due to environmental degradation and climate change, or whose material poverty pushes them to find opportunities elsewhere.
Show us how we might reach out to these vulnerable populations and help them to begin a new life in a new home. Open our hearts, so that we may provide hospitality for all who come in search of refuge. Give us the courage to welcome every stranger, as Christ in our midst. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
(Prayer from USCCB National Migration Week 2016)
Conclude (All)
God,
We pray for all people. We pray for those who leave their countries of origin in search for a better life for their families. Help us to stand strong in our actions of solidarity and prayers. Give courage to our elected leaders to do the right thing of enacting laws that protects all immigrant families.You always make something new in each one of us.
With your help, let us build a better world for all people.We pray in Jesus name.
Amen.
Specific resources for National Migration Week 2016 can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/about/migration-and-refugee-services/national-migration-week/
De Mazenod Conference – January 22-24, 2016, San Antonio, TX December 28th, 2015
World Day of Peace: January 1, 2016 December 23rd, 2015
January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and New Year’s Day, has, for many years, been designated by the Church as World Day of Peace. The theme for Pope Francis’ World Day of Peace message for 2016 is “Overcome Indifference and Win Peace.”
In his message the Holy Father states, “God is not indifferent! God cares about mankind! God does not abandon us!” He goes on to note that while, sadly, war and terrorism, accompanied by ethnic and religious persecution and the misuse of power, marked the past year from start to finish, and have become, in some parts of the world, so common as to constitute a “third world war fought piecemeal”, other events are reason for inspiration, demonstrating the human capacity to show solidarity and to rise above self-interest, apathy and indifference in the face of critical situations.
Pope Francis asks us, during the present Jubilee of Mercy “to pray and work so that every Christian will have a humble and compassionate heart, one capable of proclaiming and witnessing to mercy…to ‘forgive and give’, to become more open ‘to those living on the outermost fringes of society’…and to refuse to fall into ‘a humiliating indifference or a monotonous routine which prevents us from discovering what is new! Let us ward off destructive cynicism!’”
Links to the full message, along with other resources are available on the USCCB website.
Join us in praying to overcome indifference(USCCB):
All too often, Lord, we turn away from the world’s many problems,
which seem too big, too complex, or too far away.
Forgive us our indifference.
It is easier, Lord, to see only what is around us:
our lives, our homes, our challenges.
Forgive us our isolation.
Help us to see with your eyes:
eyes which notice one another
and help us understand.
Help us to dream your dream:
of communities that reach out and dialogue
and where diverse people creatively cooperate.
Help us to be people of solidarity and action,
so moved by prayer, encounter, and understanding
that peace can become a reality.
Amen.
